Marketing Copilothttps://marketingcopilot.com
Evidence-based MarketingWed, 20 Mar 2019 14:47:41 +0000en-UShourly1https://marketingcopilot.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/logotype_marketingcopilot-150x150.pngMarketing Copilothttps://marketingcopilot.com
3232This is a business and marketing podcast dedicated to sharing practical, real-life advice from business owners and women in the technology sector. On The Common Sense Marketer, we speak with business owners about the day-to-day challenges they face when growing their business, and how they overcome those challenges. This radio also features the Women Talk Tech Podcast which focuses on the current landscape of women in the technology sector. How to get more women involved and how to close the gender gap. Any business owner, entrepreneur, or tech executive has something to learn from listening.Marketing CopilotcleanMarketing Copilotmarketingcopilotradio@gmail.commarketingcopilotradio@gmail.com (Marketing Copilot)Home of the Common Sense Marketer and Women Talk Tech Podcastsmarketingcopilotradio@gmail.comAuthor of 'You Can't Be Everywhere' and President of Marketing Copilot Marie Wiese is joined by special guests each week to talk about what makes businesses successful and the strategies they implement to achieve their goals.Women Talk Tech Episode 7: Recruiting Women in Techhttps://marketingcopilot.com/women-talk-tech-episode-7-recruiting-women-in-tech/
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:47:59 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13687“You are the CEO of your career” Available on iTunes. On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast, we talk to Kari Mirabal who is an international networking speaker coach, and innovator who teaches people how to network smarter. Kari has decades of professional networking experience and previously a recruiter in the IT industry. Kari has […]

On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast, we talk to Kari Mirabal who is an international networking speaker coach, and innovator who teaches people how to network smarter. Kari has decades of professional networking experience and previously a recruiter in the IT industry. Kari has loads of observations about recruiting in IT and she’s witnessed first-hand the struggles women have gone through in a male-dominated industry.

Throughout this episode, Kari offers listeners advice on how to deal with some of the issues women face in the industry such as speaking their truth, having a voice and being aggressive. A simple but powerful piece of advice we took away from speaking to Kari was about language…

Language is a gift

Women need to begin to move away from the word “think” and statements such as “I think this is true” to “believe” and “I believe this is true”. It’s difficult for women to be assertive at times but Kari outlines the importance of holding your ground and being direct. Men tend to network very differently and are more direct. Kari explains why it’s important that every woman works to use more direct language to orchestrate the career they want.

About Kari Mirabal

Kari Mirabal is an international networking speaker and coach who helps large corporations, universities, and even small businesses learn how to “Network SMARTER.”She is a public speaker who generally speaks about networking on the market. Kari has been engaged by some of the largest companies in the world to help inspire and empower individuals to reach their personal and professional goals. Kari has decades of professional networking experience and loves to share her successes and failures to give audiences a new perspective on taking risks, speaking up and thinking positively.

Kari has a TedX Talk on career dating that we encourage listeners to listen to which is about “dating your career the way you date romantically”. Kari speaks about finding what you truly love, exploring new roles by networking and asking good questions. Kari is also releasing a book in 2019, so stay tuned for, “You Already Have The Know”. Her book encourages women to take more risks and go after what they truly want. We encourage you to connect with Kari on Twitter and check out her blog!

]]>“You are the CEO of your career” Available on iTunes. - On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast, we talk to Kari Mirabal who is an international networking speaker coach, and innovator who teaches people how to network smarter.“You are the CEO of your career”<br />
Available on iTunes.<br />
<br />
On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast, we talk to Kari Mirabal who is an international networking speaker coach, and innovator who teaches people how to network smarter. Kari has decades of professional networking experience and previously a recruiter in the IT industry. Kari has loads of observations about recruiting in IT and she's witnessed first-hand the struggles women have gone through in a male-dominated industry.<br />
<br />
Throughout this episode, Kari offers listeners advice on how to deal with some of the issues women face in the industry such as speaking their truth, having a voice and being aggressive. A simple but powerful piece of advice we took away from speaking to Kari was about language...<br />
Language is a gift<br />
Women need to begin to move away from the word “think” and statements such as “I think this is true” to “believe” and “I believe this is true”. It’s difficult for women to be assertive at times but Kari outlines the importance of holding your ground and being direct. Men tend to network very differently and are more direct. Kari explains why it’s important that every woman works to use more direct language to orchestrate the career they want.<br />
Learn more about Kari and her new book Naked Networking (coming out May 2019). <br />
About Kari Mirabal<br />
<br />
<br />
Kari Mirabal is an international networking speaker and coach who helps large corporations, universities, and even small businesses learn how to “Network SMARTER.”She is a public speaker who generally speaks about networking on the market. Kari has been engaged by some of the largest companies in the world to help inspire and empower individuals to reach their personal and professional goals. Kari has decades of professional networking experience and loves to share her successes and failures to give audiences a new perspective on taking risks, speaking up and thinking positively.<br />
<br />
Kari has a TedX Talk on career dating that we encourage listeners to listen to which is about “dating your career the way you date romantically”. Kari speaks about finding what you truly love, exploring new roles by networking and asking good questions. Kari is also releasing a book in 2019, so stay tuned for, “You Already Have The Know”. Her book encourages women to take more risks and go after what they truly want. We encourage you to connect with Kari on Twitter and check out her blog!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Marketing Copilotclean29:40Inside LinkedIn’s Gender Insights Reporthttps://marketingcopilot.com/inside-linkedins-gender-insights-report/
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:47:25 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13674Gender balance in the workforce determined by LinkedIn Last week, LinkedIn released a Gender Insights Report to understand how gender impacts the candidate journey. This report was based on analyzing “billions of interactions between companies and candidates from job applications to recruiter outreach and hires”. The results showed gender differences that need to be considered […]

Last week, LinkedIn released a Gender Insights Report to understand how gender impacts the candidate journey. This report was based on analyzing “billions of interactions between companies and candidates from job applications to recruiter outreach and hires”. The results showed gender differences that need to be considered when trying to understand gender discrimination. It shows clear gaps that need to be address how companies recruit women. Here are some important findings from the report:

According to the gender report, Women are 16% more likely to be hired for a role than men but women also tend to be more selective about the jobs.

Women are 16% less likely than men to apply to a job after viewing it.

Women are also 26% less likely to ask for a referral than men.

The data shows that recruiters tend to open men’s LinkedIn profiles more frequently when they are searching for candidates but after they view a candidates profile, they found women to be just as qualified as men and reach out to both genders at a similar rate.

When looking at female and male candidates on LinkedIn, recruiters are only 3% less likely to send her an InMail after viewing her profile.

For organizations, understanding proper gender recruiting methods on LinkedIn is an important factor in developing a strong strategy to increase gender balance. That may mean different things such as changing the language in your job descriptions or promoting your company culture differently but we hope this report leads to a meaningful insight for your company and gender balance in the workforce.

LinkedIn has included in the report five actionable suggestions that companies can undertake right now to address the gender gap and inequities in their businesses.

]]>Women in IT 2019 New York Summit Launchhttps://marketingcopilot.com/women-in-it-2019-new-york-summit-launch/
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:34:57 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13678Marie Wiese to Moderate at the 2019 Women in IT Summit. Bonhill Group is proud to announce the launch of the 2019 Women in IT New York Summit, co-located with the Women in IT Awards on March 28th at the Cipriani, 42nd Street. Technology is creating a new world of work in North America and […]

Bonhill Group is proud to announce the launch of the 2019 Women in IT New York Summit, co-located with the Women in IT Awards on March 28th at the Cipriani, 42nd Street.

Technology is creating a new world of work in North America and the US alone created more than 1 million jobs over the past decade. New technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain and many other new developments within data, analytics, and cybersecurity are opening up endless opportunities.

The IT and technology industries continue to be heavily dominated by male professionals and little has changed since diversity and inclusion discussions began. The percentage of global female IT leaders remains at 9% and in the US, women make up less than 20% of tech jobs. (Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey).

Marie Wiese is proud to speak at the 2019 launch of Women in IT New York Summit. Marie is excited to be contributing to this community of women as she continues to focus her time on helping more women get into tech and stay in tech.Marie will be moderating the 11:25 am session on Navigating your way into the exciting world of Tech! Also, catch her at 2 pm on the panel discussion called Over mentored and not enough sponsorship.

]]>Marketing CoPilot Earns 2018 Constant Contact Solution Provider All Star Awardhttps://marketingcopilot.com/marketing-copilot-earns-2018-constant-contact-solution-provider-all-star-award/
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:00:39 +0000http://marketingcopilot.com/?p=12442Recognized for achievements using online marketing tools to drive success Toronto, ON —March 14, 2019 – Marketing CoPilot has been named a 2018 Solution Provider All Star Award winner by Constant Contact, an Endurance International Group company and a leader in small business marketing solutions. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10 percent of Constant Contact’s […]

]]>Recognized for achievements using online marketing tools to drive success

Toronto, ON —March 14, 2019 – Marketing CoPilot has been named a 2018 Solution Provider All Star Award winner by Constant Contact, an Endurance International Group company and a leader in small business marketing solutions. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10 percent of Constant Contact’s customer and Solution Provider base, based on their significant achievements using email marketing to engage their customer base and drive results for their organization during the prior year.

Over the past year, Marketing CoPilot has grown its business by incorporating inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight customers as a newly recognized HubSpot Certified Agency Partner. Our team strives to help B2B companies in the technology, professional services and manufacturing sectors use the power of content to improve lead generation and lead nurturing in their business.

“At Marketing CoPilot we are happy to be recognized by Constant Contact, an email marketing program we have been partnered with for many years,” said Marie Wiese, Founder and President. “Our clients enjoy using this platform to engage their customers and leverage marketing in their industry. We are proud to be assisting them in their digital journeys and hope to see strong results in the year ahead.”

Constant Contact Solution Providers are businesses that provide services tailored to the needs of small businesses or nonprofits—everything from web developers, to online marketing consultants, to advertising agencies and more. They use Constant Contact’s online marketing tools to generate more business for both themselves and their clients. Criteria used to select this year’s All Stars included the following during 2018:

Level of engagement with email campaigns

Open, bounce, and click-through rates

Use of social sharing features

Use of mailing list sign-up tools

Use of reporting tools

“Our Solution Providers are an invaluable extension of our business, helping small businesses and nonprofits that are seeking hands-on assistance with their marketing,” said Hannah Budreski, Vice President of Marketing Communications, Constant Contact. “We’re thrilled to recognize Marketing CoPilot for their achievements in helping their small business customers become better marketers.”

About Marketing CoPilotAn award-winning, certified, inbound marketing agency, committed to helping B2B companies be more competitive and better positioned online to improve lead generation, nurturing and management for sales teams. We show people how to compete/position themselves online through the Marketing CoPilot Methodology: Value Proposition, Buyer Mapping, Keyword Strategy & Conversion Plan.

About Constant ContactConstant Contact, an Endurance International Group company and a leader in online marketing for more than 20 years, offers an easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses create professional campaigns that can help increase customers and revenue. From advanced automation features to industry-leading integrations, to personalized coaching, Constant Contact is the trusted marketing partner of hundreds of thousands of growth-minded small businesses around the world. For more information, visit: www.constantcontact.com.

About Endurance International GroupEndurance International Group Holdings, Inc. helps millions of small businesses worldwide with products and technology to enhance their online web presence, email marketing, business solutions, and more. The Endurance family of brands includes: Constant Contact, Bluehost, HostGator, Domain.com and SiteBuilder, among others. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Endurance employs over 3,800 people across the United States, Brazil, India and the Netherlands. For more information, visit: www.endurance.com.

Endurance International Group and the compass logo are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. Constant Contact, the Constant Contact logo and other brand names of Endurance International Group are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. or its subsidiaries.

This post has been updated to reflect the most recent 2018 Award received by Marketing CoPilot. The previous version of this post reflected the 2017 Award.

]]>Why businesses of all sizes need marketing automationhttps://marketingcopilot.com/why-businesses-of-all-sizes-need-marketing-automation/
Wed, 06 Mar 2019 20:59:11 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13652Marketing Automation saves time for any business, big or small Marketing automation can help re-focus efforts and reduce the most common challenge of businesses big and small… TIME. If you’re a small business with under 100 employees or a bigger business with more than 1000 employees, you likely have small marketing teams and you know […]

Marketing automation can help re-focus efforts and reduce the most common challenge of businesses big and small… TIME. If you’re a small business with under 100 employees or a bigger business with more than 1000 employees, you likely have small marketing teams and you know the grind that comes with it. Nearly 60% of marketers work in teams of less than three people, making time precious and results even more important.

The marketing automation sector is a burgeoning industry that has skyrocketed from a $500M market to 5.5B in 2019 in just four years. Marketing automation is no longer a “nice to have.” It has become a “must-have” for companies of all sizes that want to compete. Products and options in the market are growing and it’s no longer a process or product for big companies with deep pockets and large marketing teams. It is accessible to any business and chances are your competitors are already on board.

“2019 Small Business Marketing Trends Report” found that only 7% of small business owners said they plan to budget more on marketing automation this year. Small business owners may think that they’re not large enough to implement MA. There is a misconception that it costs too much or they simply just don’t have the time to figure it out. Today however, the value of a marketing automation process and tool provide so much value to a business, they can no longer sit on the side lines and wait.

Three ways marketing automation can save time for businesses big and small:

Productivity

Think of those simple tasks such as sending different emails for different campaigns or sending personal webinar invitations or even analyzing which of these campaigns and emails are working. You may already have different email structures in place for campaigns or invitations but all of this can be automated and tracked with an marketing automation tool making it much easier to execute and much easier to track results. There’s no need to re-create any of these email flows and everything can finally be in one place! You can even automate social media and blog posts through marketing automation.

Personalization

Personalization has become an important tactic to ensuring your audience “sticks with you.” No one wants to receive more email or information digitally than they have to. Marketing automation can help segment lists of people, create custom work flows and manage data associated with a contact record in ways that an ordinary email tool never can. Marketing automation function all you to send the right message to the right prospective client or customer at the appropriate time based on their personal attributes. Marketing automation is able to collect data about interactions on different “touch points” throughout the buyer journey which can help move the sales process. You will also be able to create offers and content that resonate with potential clients and customers and deliver it in critical moments of their decision making journey.

Customer and Client Retention

Sometimes we are so focused on capturing new leads, that we often forget how important it is to retain the people who have already raised their hand to communicate with us. Small Biz Trends found a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to an increase in profits of between 25% and 95%! Retention is just as important and marketing automation can help with this by nurturing customers post-sale by monitoring behavior and sending personalized messages based on triggers. You can even automate surveys to gain critical feedback because we definitely know customer experience can be a make or break in business now!

Time is money and the time is now. Companies not actively looking to build marketing automation into their marketing toolkit will get left behind. The old adage that smaller businesses just can’t afford it is also not true. There are a number of ways to get marketing automation to work in your business regardless of size or marketing maturity.

We developed a free guide for you to get started and figure out if you are ready for marketing automation.

]]>Women Talk Tech Episode 6: Building a Communityhttps://marketingcopilot.com/women-talk-tech-episode-6-building-a-community/
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 17:49:25 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13636Meet the woman who built the largest online engineering community on Instagram Available on iTunes. On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Mina Dezz, Founder of the largest online community on Instagram “Iron Ring Girls” created to bring women in engineering together. Mina was a graduate of Civil Engineering in 2014 from the University of […]

On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Mina Dezz, Founder of the largest online community on Instagram “Iron Ring Girls” created to bring women in engineering together. Mina was a graduate of Civil Engineering in 2014 from the University of Toronto and is currently working in residential construction building custom homes. Mina impressively built a community of over 20,000 followers and created the guide “Building a Powerful Mind while Studying Engineering”.

This episode addresses the common challenges women experience in Engineering such as loneliness, independence, and the drastic change in environment. Mina speaks about her experience throughout university and how proper preparation can help manage this change a lot better.

Marie and Mina discuss:

The challenges girls face transitioning from high school to university

How to prepare for the engineering journey

The importance of communication and people skills in engineering

Dealing with uncertainty after graduation

Mina provides many helpful tips and strategies for dealing with a profession that is mostly men, many of which the technology industry should be adopting today. Her advice “always ask” is one of the most important lessons all young women should learn as they work their way up no matter what the career choice.

About Mina Dezz

Mina has been working in the field of engineering since she graduated in 2014. She graduated from Civil Engineering with a minor in Engineering Business from the University of Toronto. She started working in urban transportation design but switched to construction after 2 years. Mina currently works in residential construction, building custom homes.

Mina is also the creator of the largest online community of women in engineering on Instagram “IronRingGirls”. She has written her entire experience in studying engineering in her guide “Building a Powerful Mind while Studying Engineering”.

]]>Meet the woman who built the largest online engineering community on Instagram Available on iTunes. - On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Mina Dezz, Founder of the largest online community on Instagram "Iron Ring Girls" created to bring...Meet the woman who built the largest online engineering community on Instagram<br />
Available on iTunes.<br />
<br />
On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Mina Dezz, Founder of the largest online community on Instagram "Iron Ring Girls" created to bring women in engineering together. Mina was a graduate of Civil Engineering in 2014 from the University of Toronto and is currently working in residential construction building custom homes. Mina impressively built a community of over 20,000 followers and created the guide “Building a Powerful Mind while Studying Engineering”.<br />
<br />
This episode addresses the common challenges women experience in Engineering such as loneliness, independence, and the drastic change in environment. Mina speaks about her experience throughout university and how proper preparation can help manage this change a lot better.<br />
<br />
Marie and Mina discuss:<br />
<br />
The challenges girls face transitioning from high school to university<br />
How to prepare for the engineering journey<br />
The importance of communication and people skills in engineering<br />
Dealing with uncertainty after graduation<br />
<br />
Mina provides many helpful tips and strategies for dealing with a profession that is mostly men, many of which the technology industry should be adopting today. Her advice "always ask" is one of the most important lessons all young women should learn as they work their way up no matter what the career choice.<br />
Follow Instagram's Women Talk Tech and Iron Ring Girls for daily inspiration.<br />
About Mina Dezz<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Mina has been working in the field of engineering since she graduated in 2014. She graduated from Civil Engineering with a minor in Engineering Business from the University of Toronto. She started working in urban transportation design but switched to construction after 2 years. Mina currently works in residential construction, building custom homes.<br />
<br />
Mina is also the creator of the largest online community of women in engineering on Instagram "IronRingGirls". She has written her entire experience in studying engineering in her guide "Building a Powerful Mind while Studying Engineering".<br />
<br />
Connect with Mina and join her community on Instagram: @ironringgirlsMarketing Copilotclean24:09How keyword rankings have evolved alongside Digital Transformation of the marketing functionhttps://marketingcopilot.com/how-keyword-rankings-have-evolved-alongside-digital-transformation-of-the-marketing-function/
Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:30:25 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13610Keyword rankings are no longer a primary performance metric of your website The core concept of digital transformation is the shift from a seller’s world to a buyer-centric model, meaning marketer’s can no longer market features and functions but instead the focus is on user experience and the buyer’s behavior. This concept has drastically changed […]

]]>Keyword rankings are no longer a primary performance metric of your website

The core concept of digital transformation is the shift from a seller’s world to a buyer-centric model, meaning marketer’s can no longer market features and functions but instead the focus is on user experience and the buyer’s behavior. This concept has drastically changed how marketer’s measure success and in turn changed the way technology supports the marketing function.

Back in the day (no more than 5 years ago), Google Analytics and the practice of SEO was a marketer’s best friend. Keyword rankings was a science. Reaching page one for your company felt like the biggest success and all you had to do was trick-out your web page and stuff it with keywords. At this time the data you could pull from Google Analytics alone was more than enough. Google showed you exact search volumes and “not set” wasn’t an option. It was easy to determine what hot topic keywords people were searching for and exactly what you could hijack to get them to find you. Whether your website was relevant to what they were actually looking for, didn’t matter as long as the keywords lined up, you were golden.

Today, it’s not so easy. Google Analytics is consistently changing what they let you see and is evolving as human behavior evolves. The data SEO engineers once used to get you to Page One is no longer available. Truth be told, getting to Page One doesn’t matter anymore because the constant gaming of words no longer matters if the human being immediately leaves your website if it’s not what they want, confusing or lack clarity and credibility. Not only is this more complex than ever before, it will also change from buyer to buyer depending on their criteria and what they personally value more.

Digital transformation has made keyword rankings inaccurate. According to HubSpot, there are three broad buckets that have rendered keyword rankings obsolete:

Personalization

Device

Location

Device and location are the most technical as it has to do with technology advancements Google has relative to five years ago but personalization is perhaps the most interesting and hardest for marketers to determine.

Keywords and Buyer Behavior are vastly different

As HubSpot explains, “besides the obvious changes in Google Algorithms and the loss of available data in Google Analytics SEO, keyword rankings today are directional at best. Strong keyword rankings no longer equate to high volumes of qualified traffic or increases in revenue”. Today Google rankings are different for each individual person. People no longer search in fragmented sentences, using only keywords to find what they are looking for. People search conversationally, meaning they will type whole sentences into their search engine, or they will ask Siri or Alexa as if asking a person. You can’t stuff a web page full of popular sentences on the off chance a buyer asks that question.

“This technological shift to accommodate personalization and human behavior has forced marketers to become more savvy and focus on content and a variety of marketing tools to meet goals.”

Content is now the key focus. HubSpot has introduced a concept called Topic Clusters to measure the performance of content and help your content be found on Google. Essentially this concept is grounded in the idea that instead of focusing on one specific keyword on each individual page you focus on one topic with a variety of related topics across a variety of pages. This holistic view of your content and measuring of page performances is how we need to shift our digital marketing practices. You don’t need HubSpot to map out this strategy, although it doesn’t hurt.

What you do need is a documented content strategy and a plan to measure success. Google Analytics will always be one of the top tools for determining how well your website is performing. However, you must use this data along with other data to truly see a holistic view of your web presence. If you don’t know where to start, discovering your value proposition and buyer personas are the first step. Once you know who you need to appeal to and how best to build credibility with that audience, only then can you can start using data to create goals and metrics for success. Take it one step further, and start automating your marketing tasks so your resources can focus on what you cannot automate. True digital transformation of the marketing function is embracing the concept that marketing automation tools can help you do your job better. Marketing automation aligns the marketing and sales process and is always a reliable tool into the visibility and success of your marketing function.

Data needs to drive decisions

Bottom line is that we can no longer use keyword rankings alone as a factor of success. You must use the hybrid of tools at your disposal to create a holistic view of success in your web presence. The next evolution of SEO relies heavily on the support of content creation and a mixture of tools to measure success. Digital Transformation has not completely killed keyword rankings, it has evolved how we must use SEO to determine performance and success. Marketers should always rely on data to drive decisions but with technology advancements and buyer behavior we must continue to evolve how we interpret and use that data.

]]>Celebrating Women in Tech on February 7th in Torontohttps://marketingcopilot.com/celebrating-women-in-tech-on-february-7th-in-toronto/
Wed, 13 Feb 2019 13:11:49 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13615On February 7th we had the opportunity to present the first ever Women in Technology Awards in Toronto, Ontario hosted by TechnoPlanet and eChannelNews. Three incredible female leaders in the tech sector were presented with awards that recognized their outstanding contribution to the IT sector. Before announcing the winner, we had a chance to discuss […]

]]>On February 7th we had the opportunity to present the first ever Women in Technology Awards in Toronto, Ontario hosted by TechnoPlanet and eChannelNews. Three incredible female leaders in the tech sector were presented with awards that recognized their outstanding contribution to the IT sector.

Before announcing the winner, we had a chance to discuss the status of women in tech and share with the audience some of the things that ChannelNext has been doing to raise the profile of women in the industry and get more women involved.

There are few CEOs today who would not agree that two of their biggest challenges are talent and innovation. IDC estimates that by 2021, we will be short 59,000 full time employees in Canada in the tech sector. The numbers are even more staggering in the United States. There is brain crunch happening throughout North America, so the question needs to be asked…

Why are we ignoring 51% of the population?

Why is the “T” in STEM the only part of the equation declining, not growing when it comes to more women joining the sector? Why are more women leaving the sector right now than entering it?

In a survey of 900 Canadian tech firms conducted by Deloitte, women account for 5% of CEO roles and 13% of executive team positions. 53% of Canadian Tech organizations have no female executives at all and 73% have no women on their board. This is shocking in an industry that prides itself on being nimble and ever-changing. So why is the gender imbalance so great?

Why we should all care about advancing women in tech…

Quite simply: a business will dramatically improve if it helps to mentor women and see them for the talent and innovation drivers that they are. If we all profile women in the industry and improve the profile of tech for women, the industry will have:

More access to talent

Create a more diverse workplace

Be more innovative and ultimately more competitive by developing software and products that are reflective of society as a whole

That’s the “why” this issue matters so much to the tech industry, but now here is the what we need to do. In the last six months, ChannelNext has been working hard to:

Launch the WIT initiative which started with blogs and podcasts and a new section on eChannelNews to profile women in the industry

Formed a WIT networking group that anyone can take part in

Developed a quiz for tech companies as part of the 50 Best Managed Surveys to see how female-friendly and women supportive they are in their business

Developed a half-day workshop for companies that need to improve their female-forward approach in order to capitalize on talent and innovation

Initiatives like those listed above are aimed to advance women into the tech sector and ensure we are doing our part to help close the gender gap in the future.

And the winners are…

It was my extreme honour to present the first-ever WIT awards to three very deserving winners.

Mary Ann Yule, President of HP Canada

Mary Ann has spent 20 years in the tech sector across many parts of the sector including manufacturing, distribution and solutions provider/reseller. She works to develop leaders everyday in her role at HP. In 2019 HP was named one of Toronto’s Top Employers and is one of the most sustainable tech companies in Canada.

Mary Ann’s goals in 2019 are to continue to be a leader for good and support her role at HP in helping to create technology that makes life better for everyone everywhere, while championing diversity, sustainability and corporate responsibility. She believes more women need to be in tech because tech is exciting, fast paced and there is lots of opportunity. Mary Ann feels more stories about women in tech need to be told and people need to see the real impact that women can have on the industry.

Elaine Meh, Intel of Canada Ltd.

Elaine has spent 18 years in the tech sector, the last 14 at Intel. A notable accomplishment is the Mentoring Advisory Council formed at Intel to help Canadian small businesses be more innovative and competitive. As part of the Women at Intel Network, she participated in workshops for girls 13-18 years old to help them hone their entrepreneurial skills and grow their interest in technology.

In 2019, her goals are to set an example and help profile and mentor more women in tech. Elaine love’s to share her experiences and wants to encourage a new generation of women to move up in the tech sector.

Iva Peric-Lightfoot, ESET Canada

Iva has spent 24 years working in the tech sector across all levels of channels, distribution, retail, VAR and vendors. She is very proud of leading the opening of ESET Canada and building a strong and diverse team. ESET offers a Women in Cyber Security Scholarship to help young girls choose a career in IT. ESET also promotes a community called Women in the Workforce (WOW) where women are building a place to network and share skills. Iva believes a diverse workforce is key to the success of any organization as it fosters an open minded, inclusive place to work.

In 2019 her goals are to promote education which she believes is the key to advancing women in tech. She wants more women to understand the opportunities and that all are not “technical”. There is lots of room for strong business leaders and creative minds. Her message today for everyone is that diversity in the workplace is the key to success and more women need to be in tech.

Congratulations to all three outstanding women. Let’s see even more winners next year.

]]>Women Talk Tech Episode 5: How to Support Women in Techhttps://marketingcopilot.com/women-talk-tech-episode-5-how-to-support-women-in-tech/
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 20:53:16 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13591Strategies to get more women into the tech sector Available on iTunes. On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Elena Baeva, Founder and CEO of 365 Talent Portal, a career hub for Microsoft Dynamics professionals. Elena spent 22 years in the enterprise technology industry working for global software vendors of which 9 years were working directly […]

On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Elena Baeva, Founder and CEO of 365 Talent Portal, a career hub for Microsoft Dynamics professionals. Elena spent 22 years in the enterprise technology industry working for global software vendors of which 9 years were working directly for Microsoft. Elena is also a Board Member of The Women in Technology Network (WIT) in the UK and the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) in EMEA.

This episode addresses the state of the technology sector on a global scale in terms of women and diversity. Elena and Marie discuss specific strategies for how the Microsoft community and the community at large can start fostering more women in the technology industry. Here are three ways you can help your organization attract more women:

About Elena Baeva

Elena spent 22 years in the enterprise technology industry working for global software vendors of which 9 years were working directly for Microsoft. She lived and worked in many countries around the world which helped her enormously with appreciating different cultures and building local connections. Elena is currently based in the UK but her work spreads across 134 countries.

Throughout her time at Microsoft, many of her contacts wanted to hire IT consultants and it became apparent that there was no easy and cost-effective way of finding them. Elena and her team set up 365 Talent Portal and help hundreds of companies who need Dynamics 365 professionals or training.

The company attracts professionals by offering free access to online Microsoft Dynamics 365 training and resources which helps the consultants keep their skills and certifications up to date. The team runs many initiatives to attract new talent to pursue a Microsoft Dynamics 365 career. As a result, Microsoft Partners & End Users can access thousands of vetted Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consultants on the portal and hire them, while cutting their typical recruitment fees in half due to the subscription plan pricing model.

]]>Strategies to get more women into the tech sector Available on iTunes. - On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Elena Baeva, Founder and CEO of 365 Talent Portal, a career hub for Microsoft Dynamics professionals.Strategies to get more women into the tech sector<br />
Available on iTunes.<br />
<br />
On this week’s Women Talk Tech podcast we talk to Elena Baeva, Founder and CEO of 365 Talent Portal, a career hub for Microsoft Dynamics professionals. Elena spent 22 years in the enterprise technology industry working for global software vendors of which 9 years were working directly for Microsoft. Elena is also a Board Member of The Women in Technology Network (WIT) in the UK and the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) in EMEA.<br />
<br />
This episode addresses the state of the technology sector on a global scale in terms of women and diversity. Elena and Marie discuss specific strategies for how the Microsoft community and the community at large can start fostering more women in the technology industry. Here are three ways you can help your organization attract more women:<br />
1. Recruitment techniques<br />
<br />
Create proactive campaigns with Universities/Colleges<br />
Create apprentices/internships<br />
Create specific programs for mothers returning to work<br />
Showcase successful hires<br />
Demonstrate diversity and open culture<br />
Offer flexibility<br />
<br />
2. On-board with learning<br />
<br />
Peer to peer learning<br />
Online learning – Access the DynamicsLearningPortal<br />
Proctored exams<br />
Microsoft courses are available<br />
<br />
3. Nurture and mentor leadership<br />
<br />
Mentorship - Find people close to their age<br />
Sponsorship – Get management involved<br />
Access to resources – Find WIT Network and reach out<br />
<br />
For a better understanding of gender parity on a global scale, download the Global Gender Gap Report from 2018.<br />
About Elena Baeva<br />
<br />
Elena spent 22 years in the enterprise technology industry working for global software vendors of which 9 years were working directly for Microsoft. She lived and worked in many countries around the world which helped her enormously with appreciating different cultures and building local connections. Elena is currently based in the UK but her work spreads across 134 countries.<br />
<br />
Throughout her time at Microsoft, many of her contacts wanted to hire IT consultants and it became apparent that there was no easy and cost-effective way of finding them. Elena and her team set up 365 Talent Portal and help hundreds of companies who need Dynamics 365 professionals or training.<br />
<br />
The company attracts professionals by offering free access to online Microsoft Dynamics 365 training and resources which helps the consultants keep their skills and certifications up to date. The team runs many initiatives to attract new talent to pursue a Microsoft Dynamics 365 career. As a result, Microsoft Partners & End Users can access thousands of vetted Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consultants on the portal and hire them, while cutting their typical recruitment fees in half due to the subscription plan pricing model.<br />
<br />
<br />
Connect with Elena on LinkedIn here and here. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.<br />
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Join the Women Talk Tech Podcast on Instagram!Marketing Copilotclean24:21Does marketing automation make marketers more accountable?https://marketingcopilot.com/does-marketing-automation-make-marketers-more-accountable/
Wed, 30 Jan 2019 20:09:25 +0000https://marketingcopilot.com/?p=13573Digital Transformation of the Marketing Function So much has been written about marketing in the last few years. Much of it professes to teach you how to get a “35% lift on conversion” or create campaigns that everyone opens and the leads come rolling in. It makes marketing seem easy. But if you were a […]

So much has been written about marketing in the last few years. Much of it professes to teach you how to get a “35% lift on conversion” or create campaigns that everyone opens and the leads come rolling in. It makes marketing seem easy. But if you were a fly on the wall of executive board rooms, you’d likely hear a different, very negative observation about marketing.

Confidence in the marketing function by executives is at an all-time low. CEOs I speak with, are struggling. They can’t seem to figure it out. From finding the right marketing resources for their business to what technology to buy, they are caught between decisions of whether to hire in-house or outsource, buy tools or buy tactics. This compounded with figuring out strategy, makes managing and executing the marketing function incredibly complex. The reason for this is that the role and function of marketing needs to evolve at a much faster pace than most CEOs can handle.

The digital age has transformed marketing more than any other function in a business. This coupled with the power shift from the business to customer due to unlimited supply and changed buying habits, means that today’s modern marketer must not only understand how to build and use the technology they need to succeed but they have to be closely tied to the customer and the buyer journey in order to truly deliver results. Many companies struggle with understanding this let alone figuring out how to execute it.

The marketing function in many organizations in the B2B space is outdated and unrealistic. If you don’t agree with this statement, take a look at your marketing function and agree or disagree with the following statements:

I have a clearly documented outline of the buyer I need to engage to achieve my sales goals for the year and I can run a report right now and know how my lead generation program is tracking against these goals.

I have tied analytics from my web presence (what prospects are doing on the web) to data in my CRM and know how interested a prospect is in our offer at any given time of the day.

I have lots of ways for prospects to connect with my business if they aren’t ready to buy, beyond just the “Contact Us” form on our website and I have established funnels for each step of the buyer journey to know what they are doing.

If you answered yes to all three of these statements, well done. You understand the shift in the marketing function today and what tools like marketing automation can do to support this shift. If you answered no, I suggest you take time to consider where your business will be in three years.

Companies that do not embrace and evolve to transform the marketing function in their organizations, will quite simply be out of business in three years.

What’s the ROI on marketing and marketing automation? You tell me? In business today? Out of business in three years? What’s your delta?

Many organizations I speak to have started to consider more tools like marketing automation. Much like the popularity of CRM back in the early 2000’s, marketing automation products are now in a heated race to gain market share. If you look at products on the market today, you will see their sales soaring.

But coming back to the question at hand, does a marketing automation tool solve the problem? Does it make marketers more accountable and by default, businesses more successful?

By itself, I would say NO. Any technology tool or product does not guarantee success. To guarantee success, you need to be willing to do the following:

Create agreement and understanding across your organization about the role of marketing for your business. If it’s to develop “brand” or run the golf tournament for clients you’re doomed. Lead management should be the primary function and everything that goes with it from the website through to tracking deals based on those leads. How you build awareness and engage people is up to you. But marketing as a function should be supported and managed based on this function alone. Can you do that?

Build a plan based on the buyer journey and invest in content and a website to support that journey. Can you do that?

Document not only the way prospects buy today but the way you sell to them so you can transform the story from the sales team to an online self-serve model. Even if you sell the most expensive, complex item in the world, you need to be willing to put the buying function out front via your web presence. Can you do that?

Invest in long term, continuous testing. The digital era means fast and constant evolution. There is no silver bullet like there was in the advertising era. Buyer engagement needs to evolve over time the more you get to know your audience. It will cost money. It will take time. It won’t be easy. Can you do that?

A recent paper by Deloitte Australia, entitled Reviving Marketing | The new CMO states that “we have a generation of marketers who have been trained to output work that neither moves nor offends, says only what is expected and is noticed by very few.” Adding a marketing automation tool to this mix will tell you faster that you are not succeeding and by default makes the marketer accountable. But that’s not the real issue today.

What needs to change?

The Strategy – Where to play, how to win and how to reach your buyer with the best story that encourages them to take a next step.

The Engine – You need to execute marketing through performance engines that will not only make the marketer more accountable but the entire business. The wrong strategy and content mapped to the right tool is not a winning formula.

The times they are a changing.

The digital transformation of the marketing function is now. Getting people across your organization involved to understand buyers and their needs will be lead by insights but transformed to data. How marketers intend to play in this shifting paradigm is up to them and the businesses they serve.

For marketers to excel today, they need to:

Ask the right questions with a high level of empathy.

Focus on solving the right problems.

Be highly collaborative and have the ability to understand and influence various parts of the business.

Embrace and drive technology.

For marketers to take their place as the accountable, strategic function it needs to be, we need to allow marketers to behave differently. Technology proves they have moved the needle, but they can’t do it if we still view the marketing function as button pushers of the email marketing platform.

Marketers can only be accountable, with or without software, if we inspire the whole organization to understand the real marketing function today: engaging customers and keeping them continuously moving through the buyer journey at all levels of the organization.

Are you ready for digital transformation of the marketing function?

We have designed a new guide to help you plan for marketing automation. Hot off the press, get it here and start the journey of making your whole organization more accountable to the marketing function in your business.